MARK'S SOUTHEND PREVIEW

Mark McGhee says that he will reassess his formation ahead of tomorrow night’s game, but that does not necessarily mean he will change things around.

He said: “You have to reassess every game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we will change things.

“I think the formation worked very well for us to a degree. With Cian and Parkesy it would have been even better, but I think it is a good way of playing at the moment for us.

“Southend play a straight forward 4-4-2, the same as Sheffield United, and it worked well enough for us. I have got to make that decision.

“I think I would have to consider Tom Eaves’ needs and how we can get the best out of him, as Tom is one of our main goalscorers at the moment, and we have to get the best out of him.

“In the second half on Saturday I felt a bit sorry for him, he struggled a little bit. Tom is a player who has come here not just to do a job for us, but for us to work with and develop.

“I want to test the squad and see where my options lie, not just in the short term but in the long term.”

And Mark knows plenty about the man who will be taking a seat in the opposition dugout.

He said: “Paul Sturrock is an old adversary of my, both as a player and now as a manager.

“I know what to expect from his teams, and I know he will have looked at us and how we have played. He thinks hard about the game.

“We know they are going to be one of the contenders and it is going to be a difficult game.

“Regardless of the result on Saturday we now have to try and build a bit of momentum, I feel as if it is coming, not just the performance but the attitude of the players in general, so I am optimistic about tomorrow night.”

Mark will have Tom Parkes back available tomorrow after serving his suspension, but he feels he is not ready to move Dave Clarkson out of midfield.

“Tom Parkes is back and available. We need Tom, he has been one of our better players, and I am still convinced that if we had had him on Saturday we would not have lost the game.

“We have to find a better midfield player than Dave Clarkson before we can move him back up front.

“In Matt Gill we will have a player who would we would feel confident putting back in and moving Dave somewhere else.

“Dave’s contribution in midfield has been terrific, and there are not proving to be any better midfield players in this division.

“I think he has a lot more to offer us up front than others who have contributed so far.”